This invention relates to harnessing apparatus and more particularly to a clamp for holding a pair of elongate devices such as hoses in spaced, generally parallel relationship.
It is quite common during the filling of a gasoline tank for a certain amount of the gasoline to escape in the form of fumes. Such fumes are particularly heavy on a hot day and besides having an unpleasant odor, the fumes are highly flammable and contain pollution causing unburned hydrocarbons. Legislation has been proposed which requires these fumes to be recovered as the tank is filled. One method proposed to comply with such legislation includes providing a suction above the liquid level in the gasoline tank. In this method, a second or suction hose is run parallel to the gasoline hose for returning the vapors to the main gasoline storage tank.
If these parallel hoses were held together only at the pump and at the nozzle they could become twisted and tangled causing an effective reduction in their overall length and they would present an unsightly appearance. Prior art devices for mounting a pair of elongate objects in spaced, generally parallel relationship have strength limitations which make them unsuited for holding hoses in a heavy use application such as a gasoline station where the hoses are often being looped and pulled. Furthermore, such prior art mounts typically are not smooth having projections which could catch on clothing or scratch the finish of an automobile. Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,430,904 and 3,432,129.
A double-latch cable tie has been proposed for holding two bundles of wires. Such a cable tie, while excellent for use with two relatively small bundles of wires, would be difficult to thread if two relatively large hoses were to be held. In this cable tie the free end of the strap is threaded into the locking head from adjacent the top of one bundle and upon leaving the locking head, it must be sharply deflected to ride over the top portion of the other bundle. Such a tie is shown in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,669.